Image based scanners are becoming increasingly popular in point of sale operations, providing improved performance and durability as compared to laser scanners. Typical prior art image based scanners employ an imaging device directed at a scan window and capturing one or more images of a bar code positioned at an appropriate distance from the imaging device. Limitations of prior art image based scanners include difficulty in achieving image capture from numerous positions and orientations in which a bar code may be placed, and difficulty in achieving image capture from a bar code presented to either window of a dual window scanner without the use of two imaging devices, one for each window.